Influence of maxillary canine torque variations on the perception of smile esthetics among orthodontists and laypersons

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of smile esthetics among orthodontists and laypersons with respect to unilateral maxillary canine torque variations in a frontal smile analysis. Methods: Full face and close-up smile photographs of two subjects (1 man and 1 woman) were used. Both smiles displayed healthy maxillary anterior dentitions. The images were digitally altered to obtain a bilateral 0° torque in the maxillary canines. From this image, unilateral variations of the left canine were made with -15°, -10°, -5°, 0°, +5°, +10° and +15°. Final images were randomly assembled into an album that was given to 53 orthodontists and 53 laypersons. Each rater was asked to evaluate the attractiveness of the images using visual analog scales. Data collected were statistically analyzed with one-way analysis of variance with Tukey post-hoc test and the unpaired Student t test. Results: For orthodontists, most attractive smiles were those with 0°, -5° and -10°. For laypersons, most attractive smiles were those with 0°, -5°, -10°, -15° and + 5°. For both groups, the lowest scores were given for the smiles with +10° and +15° torque. When comparing the perceptions of the orthodontists and laypersons, they did not show statistical differences in most situations. Moreover, in general, there was no significant difference between the full-face and close-up assessments of the smiles. Conclusions: The present findings indicated that smiles with unilateral palatal (negative values) maxillary canine torque variations were more tolerated than smiles with buccal crown torque (positive values) variations.

Investigation of the esthetic perception of different canine parameters

“…This study examines the esthetically favored shade, incisal edge shape, and crown length of the canines because these features lack clear definitions. Esthetic preferences regarding the inclination of canines have already been evaluated [ 2 , 14 ]; they are to be verified and validated in this study.…”

Análise da percepção estética do sorriso por professores do curso de odontologia da Universidade do Estado do Amazonas

“…Nesse sentindo, sendo o cirurgião-dentista o profissional capacitado a reabilitar a função estética percebida, torna-se fundamental na vida desses pacientes que buscam um sorriso atraente, pois os olhos e a boca determinam as feições mais comumente associadas à atração facial. Por isso, tanto o conhecimento técnico quanto o pessoal do cirurgião-dentista são de extrema importância na formulação, planejamento e apresentação de cada caso [4][5][6][7] .…”

“…Contudo, a percepção estética do sorriso é subjetiva, ou seja, varia de uma pessoa para outra e pode ser influenciada por experiências pessoais e do ambiente social 1,6,11 . Nesse caso, profissionais de diferentes especialidades odontológicas podem ter uma perspectiva distinta com relação a cada sorriso.…”

Smile Preferences of Orthodontists and Patients from Frontal View about Gingival Display, Occlusal Cant and Smile ARC: A Study from Isra Dental College

“…6 The perception of esthetics of anterior teeth is much more important than posterior teeth. 7 Literature has shown that the perception for smile esthetics of dental professionals is different from general population. 8 Orthodontists are more critical in appreciating smile esthetics than other dental professionals.…”